The Study On China Medical Association 1915-1937

On February 5, 1915, Wu Lien-teh, Yen Fu-ching, Tyau Sing-teh and other physiciansfounded the National Medical Association of China in Shanghai, electing Yen Fu-ching asPresident and Wu Lien-teh as Secretary. The association was aimed "to promote good will andunion among Chinese practitioners of Western Medicine; To maintain the honour and theinterests of the medical profession; To expedite the spread of modern medical science inChina and to arouse interest in Public Health and preventive medicine among the people; Toco-ordinate and co-operate with the existing medical forces in China, Chinese and foreign, inthe working out of the above objects". Its most members were medical scientists returningfrom Europe and the United States. After its establishment, the association started apublication of The National Medical Journal of China. In 1932, the National MedicalAssociation of China merged with China Medical Missionary Association into a new nationalChinese medical association. Before the war against Japan, the National Medical Associationof China had become the largest and highest-ranked medical academic organization, whichup to now is still the most authoritative medical organization in China.Apart from The National Medical Journal of China, the National Medical Association ofChina also published A Guide to the Medical Circles and other medical books, before the waragainst Japan, the association had published more than 60 kinds of books; the association heldits annual meeting regularly to carry out academic exchanges; the association proposed thereview of medical terminology to seek the unification; the association advocate medical ethicsto regulate and encourage the conduct of its members; the association investigated the ruralmedical and health facilities and the situation of national hospitals; the association urged tosend medical students abroad; the association actively promoted the building of nationalhealth systems. This series of activities enabled the National Medical Association of China tostand out in many medical organizations in a short time and set up its authority in the medicalcircles, to a certain extent, promoting the Western modern medicine to gain a leading positionin China.